At 11:56 PM 6/14/2004 -0700, you wrote:
>I have this pc that pwr. switch is not working when I turned on the pc it
>won't boot even if I use a bootable disk, I do not see anything on the
>screen I have to remove the power cord in other to turn it off.
>This is what I did, I installed win98 in it, in order to do this I removed
>the HDD and put it into other computer, then I put it back into the
>computer with the OS installed hopping that it will boot to drive C:, But
>when I put the pwr. cord it did not boot up, then I try to turned off by
>pressing the power switch but it's not working and remains on.
>what could be the problem that this switch is not working? it could be
>possible that the power supply is going bad.
>please I need your help.

Luis,

Sounds like something is dead on the motherboard. Does the internal speaker
make any beeps? Most systems will beep certain codes for common errors that
might prevent the system from running, like bad/missing memory or a missing
video card. If you get nothing, (you should at least get some screen with
BIOS messages on it) then something may be preventing it from running at
all, such as the power supply, or CPU itself. If you are somewhat
experienced with basic electronics, you can check some of the voltages from
the power supply with a voltmeter.

Some other basic troubleshooting steps are to check all cables. If that
fails, then remove ALL peripherals (disk, PCI cards) except for the CPU,
memory and video card, and see if you can at least get the BIOS POST (Power
On Self Test) screen. If that fails, then try removing the memory and video
card and see if you get any beeps from the internal speaker. If not, then
the CPU or motherboard is likely dead.

One possible problem for those that have built their own systems is
something shorting the motherboard to the case, possible because a metal
standoff exists under the motherboard where there is no mounting hole, so
check for that as well.


Russ Poffenberger
Credence Systems Corp.
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